Histone Modifications: Insights into Their Influence on Gene Expression

Abstract

This year's Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award honors David Allis and Michael Grunstein for their pioneering research that highlighted the importance of histones and their post-translational modifications in the direct control of gene expression.

A comprehensive epigenomic analysis of phenotypically distinguishable, genetically identical female and male Daphnia pulex

“…S1), and also contain significant differences in the modification H3K4me3, with higher level in male Daphnia (log 2 FC = − 8.25, FDR = 1.20e − 25 and log 2 FC = − 4.98, FDR = 7.87e − 06 ), whereas female Daphnia had higher level of H3K27me3 modification in both genes (log 2 FC = 12.40, FDR = 1.79e − 40 and log 2 FC = 13.34, FDR = 1.87e − 54 ; Additional file 1: Table S1). Histone modifications can rapidly regulate the expression of genes [40,41]. In this study, we analysed two histone modifications, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, known to regulate the expression of genes in a variety of species [42,43].…”

miRNA-486-5p Promotes COPD Progression by Targeting HAT1 to Regulate the TLR4-Triggered Inflammatory Response of Alveolar Macrophages

“…It was proposed that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in COPD pathogenesis, and this was a promising therapeutic approach based on epigenetic mark targeting [34][35][36]. Histones are highly conserved intra-nuclear alkaline proteins, and their core modi cations can affect transcription, DNA replication, and other cellular processes [37,38]. HAT1 is a type B histone acetyltransferase associated with the acetylation of newly generated histones [39].…”

Single-molecule imaging reveals control of parental histone recycling by free histones during DNA replication

“…Chromatin is divided into domains that either facilitate transcription (euchromatin or open chromatin) or repress it (heterochromatin or compacted/closed chromatin). Nucleosomes in eu- and heterochromatin carry specific histone PTMs, which modulate the structure and dynamics of these chromatin structures (Stillman, 2018). Thus, in order to maintain the transcriptional program of the cell, chromatin structures and their associated histone PTMs, must be faithfully transmitted to daughter cells, through a process generally referred to as epigenetic inheritance.…”

“…Nucleosomes in transcriptionally active and silenced chromatin domains carry specific histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) and/or distinct histone sequence variants. The disordered tails of histones H3 and H4 are primary targets for PTMs associated with different chromatin states; for example, tri-methylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 (H3-K36Me3) and acetylation of histone H4 at lysine 16 (H4-K16Ac) mark transcriptionally active chromatin, whereas tri-methylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 and 27 (H3-K9Me3 and H3-K27Me3) tag transcriptionally silenced chromatin domains (Reinberg and Vales, 2018; Stillman, 2018). Therefore, maintenance of cellular identity through mitotic cell division relies on faithful transfer of information encoded in both DNA sequence (genetic inheritance) and nucleosome landscape (epigenetic inheritance).…”